The Scouring of the Shire

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Originally Posted by Boromir88

Tolkien sets up a complimentary balance between the 'high and noble' (the Aragorn's, Gandalf's, and Boromir's) and the 'simple and ordinary' (the Frodo's, the Bilbo's, the Sam's...etc). Without one the other is meaningless. You need the 'high and noble' to do the heroic and mighty dragon-slaying, monster-sparring and glorious battling. Yet you need the 'simple and ordinary' the ones 'who are not made for perilous quests' (as Frodo sees himself), to do the 'dirty' quests (the trudge through Mordor to destroy the Ring) that the high and noble won't do or even can't do.

New Thought (sparked by the above): It's not just the "good" that is presented to us in such balance: what about (to borrow Boro's* phrase) the "complimentary balance" between Sauron and Gollum? The "high" and overpowering evil of the Dark Lord vs the "vulgar" and "mean-spirited" ill will of Smeagol.

Another example more germaine to the thread topic: Saruman and Grima--both are traitors, but one is high and "one of the great" while the other is low and pathetic.

More examples??:

The Balrog and the Watcher--the former a holdover from the First Age (possibly even fallen maia, certainly with wings that work), the latter is simply a creature doing what it does with perhaps some nudging by evil but not really an embodiment of evil.

The Nazgul and the orcs--both slaves of Sauron, but again, "high" and ancient evil wih the Wraiths and pathetic, "vulgar", petty villanies by the orcs.

We now return you to your regulary scheduled topic.


* Heh, that rhymes....what if one were to ask to "borrow Boro's Barrow"?